Backstage With… Jodie Comer and Ridley Scott on medieval epic The Last Duel
The Last Duel is based on real events – set in 14th century France it tells the story of what led to the final time a battle between two men was held in order to settle a dispute.
This article contains discussions of rape and sexual assault.
The issue they are fighting over is whether one raped the other’s wife, and the film is split in to three distinct parts in order for the story – and the truth – to unfold to viewers.
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Director Ridley Scott told Sky News’ Backstage podcast that he’d been inspired by the Japanese film Rashomon, from 1950, which also saw several people explaining the same story from different points of view.
“I always felt the most fascinating thing about the big idea was it was one event told from three different points of view,” the filmmaker said.
“And that to me, was the heart of this matter, because then it sets up the discussion: ‘Was it complicit? Was it violence? Was it rape? And what was it in the mind of a husband?’ So that, to me, is one of the reasons why I did the film.
“Not the visual, not the picture, not the medieval s*** – it’s actually to do with what is the story? I develop most of my own material, so it’s always about what is the heart of the matter.”
The movie has an A-list cast with Adam Driver and Matt Damon playing the men at odds with one another.
The Last Duel was directed by Ridley Scott. Pic: 20th Century Studios
Jodie Comer takes on the role of Marguerite – the noble woman who wants to see justice for the crime committed against her.
The plot device means there is more than one rape scene, and Comer said she prepared for those by really trying to understand how the French woman must have felt.
Jodie Comer in The Last Duel. Pic: 20th Century Studios
“It’s funny because I always struggle when someone asks about my preparation for something, because I think a lot of how I kind of navigate is instinctive,” she said.
“The night before we shot those scenes, Ridley, myself and Adam, we went to the studio, we got on the set and we blocked it out physically – there was no line reading, there was no acting, there was no emotion, it was purely to kind of set the movement of the scene, and then the next day we shot it.
“So a lot of it goes unsaid, honestly, I think it was always just trying to really make sure that this was an authentic portrayal, that it wasn’t gratuitous, that it was moving the story forward and it was telling a story.”
Scott said those scenes are a testament to Comer’s abilities, saying: “The job of a director is to cast really well, and when you cast really well, it’s a bit like taking a pebble and throwing it into a pool of still water and seeing what happens, having discussed it.”
Adam Driver in The Last Duel. Pic: 20th Century Studios
“Because once I say action, she’s on her own and she’s on her own moving with another actor.
“And therefore a lot of it becomes intuitive at that moment, and that’s the fine tuning of great acting, great actors.”
The Last Duel is out in cinemas in the UK on 15 October. Hear the full interview in the new episode of Backstage – the film and TV podcast from Sky News.
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Entertainment
Dayle Haddon: Former Sports Illustrated model dies of suspected carbon monoxide poisoning
Dayle Haddon – the actor, activist and former Sports Illustrated model – has died from what authorities believe was carbon monoxide poisoning.
Authorities found the 76-year-old dead in a second-floor bedroom on Friday morning after emergency dispatchers were notified about a person unconscious at the house in Solebury Township, Pennsylvania.
A 76-year-old man, later identified as Walter J Blucas, of Erie, is in a critical condition.
Responders detected a high level of carbon monoxide in the property.
Investigators believe the leak was caused by “a faulty flue and exhaust pipe on a gas heating system”.
As a model, Haddon appeared on the covers of Vogue, Cosmopolitan, Elle and Esquire in the 1970s and 1980s, as well as the 1973 Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue.
She also appeared in about two dozen films from the 1970s to 1990s, including 1994’s Bullets Over Broadway, starring John Cusack.
Haddon (left) with Angela Merkel and Christine Lagarde (right) during a meeting of the Gender Equality Advisory Council. Pic: AP
Haddon left modelling after giving birth to her daughter, Ryan, in the mid-1970s, but then had to re-enter the workforce after her husband’s 1991 death.
This time, she found the modelling industry far less friendly: “They said to me, ‘At 38, you’re not viable’,” Haddon told The New York Times in 2003.
Read more on Sky News:
Olivia Hussey, star of 1968 film Romeo and Juliet, dies at 73
Working for an advertising agency, she began reaching out to cosmetic companies, telling them there was a growing market to sell beauty products to aging baby boomers.
She eventually landed a contract with Clairol, followed by Estee Lauder and then L’Oreal, for which she promoted the company’s anti-aging products for more than a decade.
She also hosted beauty segments for CBS’s The Early Show.
In 2008, Haddon founded WomenOne, an organisation aimed at advancing educational opportunities for girls and women in marginalised communities, including in Rwanda, Haiti and Jordan.
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Haddon’s daughter, Ryan, said in a social media post that her mother was “everyone’s greatest champion. An inspiration to many”.
“A pure heart. A rich inner life. Touching so many lives. A life well lived. Rest in Light, Mom,” she said.
Actress Olivia Hussey, best known for playing Juliet in Franco Zeffirelli’s 1968 production of Romeo and Juliet, has died aged 73.
She died peacefully at her home in California, surrounded by her loved ones on Friday, according to a post shared on her official Instagram account.
The message, posted with a sunset photo of Hussey in her youth, paid tribute to “a remarkable person whose warmth, wisdom, and pure kindness touched the lives of all who knew her”.
It went on: “Olivia lived a life full of passion, love, and dedication to the arts, spirituality, and kindness towards animals”.
Calling her a “truly special soul”, her family said while her “immense loss” was grieved, they would also “celebrate Olivia’s enduring impact on our lives and the industry”.
Born in Buenos Aires in 1951 to an Argentinian father and English mother, Hussey returned to London aged seven with her mother and studied at the Italia Conti Academy drama school.
Spotted by Italian director Zeffirelli in a stage show of The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie opposite Vanessa Redgrave, Hussey’s performance as Juliet aged just 15 made her a star and won her a Golden Globe.
Sixteen-year-old actor Leonard Whiting played her Romeo, with the pair going on to sue Paramount Pictures in 2022 for sexual abuse due to the Oscar-nominated movie’s nude scene.
(L-R) Franco Zeffirelli, Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting in 1968. Pic: AP/Eustache Cardenas
The case was dismissed by a judge the following year.
Hussey would work with Zeffirelli again, playing the Virgin Mary in the 1977 TV miniseries Jesus Of Nazareth.
Appearances in horrors including Black Christmas and Psycho prequel Psycho IV: The Beginning established Hussey as a scream queen over the years.
Other notable appearances included Hercule Poirot movie Death On The Nile and Mother Teresa biography Madre Teresa.
Read more:
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Hussey was reunited with Whiting in the 2015 British film Social Suicide, which was loosely based on Shakespeare‘s Romeo and Juliet.
Her daughter, actress India Eisley, played her on-screen daughter in the movie.
It was Hussey’s final screen role, according to IMDB.
Hussey leaves behind three children, Alex, Max, and India, her husband of 35 years David Glen Eisley, and grandson, Greyson.
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